BEACHWOOD – Mayor Alex Rogers addressed the council, asked for reports from the borough professionals, and conducted the Beachwood Borough Council meeting and still managed to be done by bedtime.

Alex, a third grader at Beachwood Elementary School, was the winner of a Parent Teacher Organization raffle that crowned him Mayor For A Day.

He received a certificate memorializing the occasion, and his own gavel. He seemed to enjoy striking the gavel. As part of his duties, he helped present other awards, such as the Snowman Contest, and art appreciation.

He also ran the meeting. Mayor Ronald Roma, who stepped down for the night, sat next to him and coached him on what to say. Alex asked for reports from the various professionals and council members, who referred to him as “Mr. Mayor” or “Mayor Rogers.”

When asked what he would do if he could be Mayor for a Year, his eyes went wide at the idea, but couldn’t think of anything right away. His father, Marc, suggested building a race track in the woods, and Alex jumped on that. He races at the Wall Stadium Speedway against other kids.

During the public comment portion, when residents are given a chance to voice their opinion and ask questions, there was one resident who had a question for Mayor Rogers. It was his mother, Yvonne. She asked what his chances are for his upcoming races. He said he would do pretty well.

Earlier in the day, he had taken a tour of Borough Hall, and saw the inner workings of local government, Roma said. His sister, Kayla, and his grandparents from both the Rogers and Morge sides also came out to support his brief stint with local politics.

Chris Lundy is News Editor at Micromedia. He has covered Ocean County news and features in various publications since 2003. Lundy worked for Gannett with articles in The Beacon, Observer and Asbury Park Press. He's also written for the Community Connection, Patch and ShoreBeat.